Power dressing

US – Nike has unveiled its self-lacing HyperAdapt 1.0 trainer, which brings together digital, electrical and mechanical engineering research.

• Each trainer features a sensor, battery, motor and cable system that uses an algorithmic pressure equation to adjust the fit size to the user
• The trainer is currently available to buy in the US and costs £566 ($720, €677)

Tinker Hatfield, vice-president for design and special projects at Nike, says that the new product ‘challenges the traditional understanding of fit’.

When the wearer places their feet inside the trainers, a sensor triggers a system that automatically tightens them around their heels. Two buttons on the side enable the wearer to tighten or loosen the fit to find the perfect balance.

‘It is amazing to consider a shoe that senses what the body needs in real time,’ says Hatfield, who also designed the self-lacing shoes seen in Back To The Future II, envisioning a future where the shoe could provide a tailored-to-the-moment custom fit.